Sandbox III: Revenge of the Sandbox

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SCP Sandbox

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Special Containment Procedures: All recovered instances of SCP-XXXX are to be stored in medium to large size clear plastic containers, kept in standard Safe-containment lockers. Alternatively, instances may be kept in closed-top glass terrariums. They are to be fed twice a day, using any available organic waste from the Site.

Description: SCP-XXXX are a group of fifteen currently captured sentient entities, labeled SCP-XXXX-1 to SCP-XXXX-15. The instances physical appearance is identical to that of plastic bags and crumpled paper, found commonly across urban centers and environments. SCP-XXXX displays no visible means of locomotion; despite this, SCP-XXXX seems to possess the ability to drift and float around environments without any wind currents or outward stimuli.

All known physical appearances of SCP-XXXX are as follows:

Colored plastic bags of various brands

Newspaper issues dating as far back as 19██

Takeout bags and food wraps of various brands

Large colored garbage bags

SCP-XXXX instances are extremely docile, and do not seem to react to any non-harmful stimuli. Instead, they will glide across their current habitat in search of food. Instances have been subjected to sub-zero temperatures, and will reanimate upon reaching any temperature above 0°C, resuming their seemingly aimless travel. As an instance cools down, it's movement will gradually slow, and the instance will crumple itself up, before ceasing all movement. Instances show surprising flexibility despite their frozen state, and can be further crumpled and unraveled without tearing or breaking apart. Conversely, when heated, instances speed will increase, and if given the opportunity, will seek to escape the source of heat. This is theorized to be a form of self-preservation, as SCP-XXXX has shown a susceptibility to fire1.

SCP-XXXX instances have been observed to reproduce asexually. However, the method through which reproduction is achieved remains unknown. An instance will separate itself from others, usually into a corner or other enclosed area, and will slowly crumple into a small ball. After a varying length of time2, the instance will slowly unravel, a smaller instance of SCP-XXXX rolling out of it, and immediately displaying behavior similar to that of other SCP-XXXX instances. The appearance of the newly birthed instance will vary greatly, and no known pattern to the physical appearance of newborn instances has been observed. In 80% of cases, the newborn SCP-XXXX measures at approximately half the size of its parent instance, and will grow to maturity over a period of 36 hours, at the end of which becoming identical in size to its parent instance.

Attempts to dissect and observe SCP-XXXX's anatomy have provided inconclusive results. All dissected instances of SCP-XXXX have shown no anomalous qualities, and appear to be made of standard paper, plastic, and ink, dependent on the material they currently replicate.

Instances of SCP-XXXX do not require water and can go for extended periods of time in extreme conditions with little to no food source. The longest recorded period being approximately seventy-two days, after which the instance ceased all movement and lost all anomalous properties, presumably becoming deceased. The entities feed by enveloping small objects with their body, completely wrapping the object in an airtight seal, and consuming them instantaneously. No trace of the object is left behind, and instances have not shown a preference between rotting or fresh foods. It is to be noted that the entities can only consume objects that which they can fully surround, as they seem to be unable to consume things partially.

Instances of SCP-XXXX have also been observed to "taste test" new and unusual objects that they come across in different environments. Once an unfamiliar object is noticed by the entity, it will float over to it and form it's airtight seal on the object, before unwrapping and resuming it's flight if it finds the object to be inedible. Human subjects that have had their extremities go under this process have described the feeling similar to that of being tickled, and zero cases have shown an instance consuming any contacted parts of the subject. This, paired with SCP-XXXX's extremely docile nature, makes it of little threat to humans and other large living organisms3.

SCP-XXXX was initially discovered on ██/██/2016 when a Field Agent noticed a paper bag blowing across a road in the city of ██████, ██████. The bag drifted toward a flock of pigeons and wrapped itself around a lone bird, leaving behind zero trace of the creature. The bag then continued to float down the street, showing no signs of the bird being captured inside the bag. The instance was swiftly and easily detained by the agent soon after, and brought to the Foundation for containment. All agents assigned to urban environments are to carefully observe any airborne trash they come across, due to the possibility of a stray instance of SCP-XXXX.

Addendum XXXX.1: On ██/██/2017, D-XXXX1 was instructed to enter a temporary containment chamber, with all recovered instances of SCP-XXXX inside. D-XXXX1 was instructed to capture an instance, and attempt to ignite it with the matches provided to him. Upon catching an instance and striking the match, the instance appeared to show distress, and attempted to tear itself free of D-XXXX1's grip. Upon ignition, the instance let out a high-pitched squeal, and burned up in approximately 3 seconds. At the sound of the scream, all other instances of SCP-XXXX(34 at the time) ceased aimless drift and began to soar towards D-XXXX1, beginning to cover his body entirely. D-XXXX1 was soon overwhelmed by the instances, and was unable to remove them from himself. After approximately 3 minutes of struggle, D-XXXX1 became completely enveloped in SCP-XXXX instances. D-XXXX1 was then presumably consumed by the instances, as they began to disperse from D-XXXX1's last known location, leaving no trace of him behind.

Instances were observed to be unusually hostile towards all personnel entering the temporary containment cell for approximately 24 hours after this event, attempting to envelop personnel entering the chamber similarly to DXXXX-1. Instances continue to show hostility and fear towards individuals who come into proximity with a box of matches or items similar in appearance.

Since this event, SCP-XXXX instances have also been limited to fifteen in their containment lockers at any time, additional instances spawned are to be incinerated in a separate cell to prevent possible events.

Addendum XXXX.2: On ██/██/2018, authorities in the town of ██████, ███████ were alerted to a disappearance of a child by his father. Upon arriving on the scene, the father who had called in appeared to be in hysterics while clutching a large plastic garbage bag in his hands. The father was taken in for questioning immediately and gave the following interview.

Interviewed: Mr. ████ ██████

Interviewer: Field Agent █████ under the pseudonym of Police Officer ████

Foreword: Mr. ██████ was brought in for questioning at the nearest police station immediately following the incident, in near hysterics during the ride to the station. (weird, didn't know what to put)

<Begin Log>

Officer ████: Alright Mr. ██████, could you please tell me the sequence of events that led to your son's disappearance?

Mr. ██████: Excuse me? Do you have any [EXPLETIVE REDACTED] idea what I just went through? And you drag me here and just expect me to-

(Mr. ██████ is cut off promptly by Officer ████)

Officer ████: Please, calm down Mr. ██████, we need your complete cooperation if we are to locate your son. I need you to explain what happened, the faster you do this, the faster we can get to work.

Mr. ██████: Alright. Sure. So about half an hour ago, I decided it'd be a good time to go outside, throw a ball around with my son, just some bonding time, y'know?

Officer ████: I understand, Mr. ██████. Please continue.

Mr. ██████: So anyway. We were tossing the ball back and forth, backwards, from the neighbor's yard, just the usual, gotta keep it interesting right? Kids get bored pretty easily these days.

Officer ████: Please stay on topic Mr. ██████.

Mr. ██████: I know. I know. Don't rush me, you have no…no idea what happened.

(Mr. ██████ mumbles an expletive under his breathe, and after a short pause, continues.)

Officer ████: Mr. ██████?

Mr. ██████: Ya, ya, I know. Give me a second.

(Mr. ██████ takes a deep breath before continuing.)

Mr. ██████: Alright. So this "thing" came into view, just this big garbage bag floating around. I thought, oh, someone let some trash loose in our neighborhood, great, have to clean that up later. Maybe tell my boy about littering, give him a quarter for any trash he picks up.

Officer ████: What happened next, Mr. ██████?

Mr. ██████: Okay. Okay…So that bag kept coming towards us, drifting and rolling over itself, as if a strong wind was pushing it along. But, the funny thing was, I remember how hot it was, and how I wished there was at least a breeze going by. But there wasn't one, the air was just still.

(Mr. ██████ takes another deep breath and wipes his face before continuing)

Mr. ██████: The bag, it eventually flew right into my son, he laughed, and I…I did too. [EXPLETIVE REDACTED]. It reminded me of those news clips you see, where the reporter gets hit by some random debris, just brought a smile to my face. I was so caught up in our combined laughter that I didn't even notice that it was all around him, head to toe. Of course, like any responsible parent, I panicked, everyone know's the danger of plastic bags over kids heads, so I ran over to him to take it off.

(Mr. ██████ pauses and his voice wavers as he speaks.)

Mr. ██████: I pulled the bag off, ready to ruffle my son's hair, take him inside for something to drink. But…But he wasn't there. He was, he was just gone. Out of thin air. Nothing left but the bag and empty air. I swear my heart stopped after I couldn't find him. I checked the bag, the house, hell, I ran to his friend's house across the street, but he wasn't anywhere. That's when I called you guys, I had no idea what to do.

Officer ████: Thank you for your time, Mr. ██████, this information will be paramount to helping us locate your lost little boy, a ride will be arranged for you back to your home.

Closing Statement: [Following the interview, Mr. ██████ was administered a Class-B Amnestic and led to believe his son had been abducted that day, and an investigation is still ongoing. The garbage bag mentioned was confiscated by the Foundation and later identified as an instance of SCP-XXXX. The new instance is kept in a large plastic container, and has been labelled SCP-XXXX-1]

Alternate interview below.

Interviewed: Mr. ████ ██████

Interviewer: Field Agent █████ under the pseudonym of Police Officer ████

Foreword: Mr. ██████ was brought in for questioning at the nearest police station immediately following the incident, and was allowed adequate time to attempt to gather himself before giving a statement.

<Begin Log>

Officer ████: Alright Mr. ██████, could you please tell me the sequence of events that led to your son's disappearance?

Mr. ██████: Yes, yes, alright. I-It was Saturday afternoon. My son and I, heh, we had the day off so we figured we'd spend the day outside, y'know? Enjoy some time in the sun together.

Officer ████: I understand, Mr. ██████. Please continue.

Mr. ██████: S-So anyway. We were tossing the ol' pigskin around, trying out long passes, throwing backwards, just a father and son hanging out, classic, right? Heh..

Officer ████: Please stay on topic Mr. ██████.

Mr. ██████: I know. I'm sorry. Okay. A few minutes had passed, and out of the corner of my eye. I noticed something black, moving towards us. I took a quick glance after I returned the ball to my, my…

Officer ████: Mr. ██████?

Mr. ██████: Hm? Oh. Right right. Okay.

(Mr. ██████ takes a deep breath before continuing.)

Mr. ██████: I-It was just a big garbage bag, floating in the wind. I thought nothing of it. Who would? J-Just a garbage bag…

Officer ████: Mr. ██████, I know this must be very difficult for you, but I need you to stay focused and explain what happened, this information is crucial to helping us locate your lost little boy.

Mr. ██████: I know. I know. I'm sorry. It came over to us. I thought the wind was just blowing it, but, b-but there wasn't any wind. Not even a breeze.

(Mr. ██████ takes another deep breath and wipes his face before continuing)

Mr. ██████: My son, h-he just laughed as it flew into him, laughed as it enveloped him. I, I laughed too, and stepped towards him, t-to pull it off y'know? Kids can choke, suffocate, ya…

(Mr. ██████ begins to tear up and cry lightly as he continues speaking.)

Mr. ██████: I-I, I pulled it off. And he wasn't there. He was [EXPLETIVE REDACTED] gone. My son. My pride and joy, [EXPLETIVE REDACTED] gone in the blink of an eye. I looked through that bag, again and a-again. B-But he was gone. Just gone.

Officer ██████: Thank you for your time, Mr. ██████, this interview is over, a ride has been arranged for you.

(Officer ████ stands up to leave.))

Mr. ██████: E-Excuse me?

(Mr. ██████ wipes his face and looks up at Officer ████, visibly confused.)

Officer ████: I said we are done with this interview, you may leave, Mr. ██████.

Mr. ██████: I mean, that's all? I just told you my son disappeared inside a garbage bag, and that's it?

Officer ████: Well-

(Mr. ██████ cuts off Officer ████ and stands up from his own chair.)

Mr. ██████: No, no no no! You know something else, don't you?

(Mr. ██████ raises his voice tone and begins crying as he speaks)

Mr. ██████: You didn't bat an eye when I told that entire story, you know something else. You know what happened to my son! Tell me!

(Mr. ██████ moves around the table and attempts to attack Officer ████, two additional officers enter the room and subdue Mr. ██████. The interview is then ended.)

<End Log>

Closing Statement: [Following the interview, Mr. ██████ was administered a Class-B Amnestic and led to believe his son had been abducted that day, and an investigation is still ongoing. The garbage bag mentioned was confiscated by the Foundation and later identified as an instance of SCP-4588. The new instance is kept in a large plastic container, and has been labelled SCP-4588-1]

According to the father of the lost child, his son weighed approximately 23 kg, and had a height of approximately 1.3 m. SCP-XXXX-1 itself measures at 1.4 m in length and 52 cm in width, and has not shown any growth since being brought into containment.

All instances of SCP-XXXX, save for SCP-XXXX-1, have been given new diets in attempt to discern if excessive growth is caused by specific foods or large amounts of food consumed.

The list of known physical appearances of SCP-XXXX has since been updated, as well as SCP-XXXX's object class. Field Agents assigned to urban and suburban areas have been instructed to watch for any similar unique instances, to prevent further possible events, as well as to closely investigate missing children and animal cases.

Personnel with security clearance of Level 2 or higher may request an instance of SCP-XXXX to be kept in their office in a closed-top glass terrarium, with express permission from their current Site Director. Following approval they will be given specified instructions on how to care for the instance. Failure to abide by these instructions will result in the revoking of their permission, as well as appropriate punishment based on the severity of the offense.